Ajax (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) is a browser based technology for creating highly interactive Web applications by updating parts of a Web page with new data without reloading the whole page. This results in a more responsive and interactive interface, and is the technology powering websites like Google Maps and Google Mail.

There is no formal definition of Ajax, but using XMLHttpRequest/JavaScript has become the dominant Ajax technology. The course starts with an introduction to using XMLHttpRequest and a somewhat brief introduction to JavaScript fundamentals. It includes in-depth coverage of programming with Ajax to send/retrieve data to/from a server, updating a Web page with JavaScript, and using CSS to modify the look of a Web page.

The course includes detailed coverage of how to handle Ajax requests using Servlets/JSP and Java Web applications. This includes generation of HTML, XML and JSON from Java, as well as the use of various other server-side Ajax techniques.

The course also provides extensive coverage on using frameworks - both client side JavaScript and server side Java - to support the complex programming that Ajax requires. These frameworks can reduce the sometimes complex and tedious programming that Ajax can require.

Client side frameworks can relieve you from dealing with the low level complexities of Ajax, or provide preexisting widgets like a textbox with Ajax-powered completions. We also cover frameworks like Direct Web Remoting (DWR) to invoke server side Java from JavaScript, and Google Web Toolkit (GWT) to develop Ajax applications completely in Java, and have GWT generate the JavaScript.

This course is hands on with labs to reinforce all the important concepts. It will enable you to build working Ajax applications, and give you an understanding of the important concepts and technology in a very short time.

All labs are done using the Eclipse IDE for programming and deploying to the server, and the lab instructions include detailed instructions on using them.

Objectives:

Understand the principles of interactive Web applications and how Ajax is used to create them

Understand how XMLHttpRequest works, and use it with JavaScript to update a Web page

Use JavaScript and DOM with Ajax to manipulate the structure of a Web page